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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Young Reader Review: Favorites from Dr. Seuss

Although the "gatekeepers" of children's publishing are adults, the true audience of children's literature is made up of a diverse group of young readers. With this in mind, I started the Young Reader Review series to give kids a chance to tell us which books they love to read, and why. I plan to
cover board books through YA, so these interviews should be quite
diverse (and lots of fun!). Thanks for reading!

* * * * *

Our
review today comes from a young reader named Walker who lives in Raleigh, North
Carolina. Walker is an expert on books for the preschool set, and was kind
enough to tell us about his current favorites!

Hello, Walker! Thank you so much for talking with us today about
your favorite books. Tell us about yourself!

Hi, my name is Walker. I am 5 years old
and I go to preschool. I like to play with my friends. I like to play games on
the computer and Skype with my Grandma and Paw Paw.

Wow, you sure stay busy! You are starting kindergarten this
fall. What are you looking forward to the most about going to “big kid” school?

Looking around and playing with new friends!

Your mom has told me many times that you love to read. What
is your very favorite book these days?

Green Eggs and
Ham
by Dr. Seuss. It’s about when they try to give Sam some green eggs and ham. At
first he doesn’t like them. But when he tries them he likes them. I like this
book because Sam always goes inside things and tries the green eggs and ham.

Dr. Seuss was one of MY favorite authors growing up, too! What other books do you like to read?I
also like The Bippolo Seed and Other
Lost Stories by Dr. Seuss. I like the story in that book
about the shirt spot. That sticky spot sticks to everything, even the cat and
even back on his shirt again!

I also
like a book called Underpants
Thunderpants but I know that’s not a Dr. Seuss story. I like that one
because it’s silly. I like books that rhyme!Me, too—rhyming books are my very favorite!﻿﻿

Underpants, Thunderpants by Peter Bently

Thanks again for joining us today, Walker! It's definitely important for grownups to know what kinds of books kids love to read. Have fun at school, and HAPPY
READING!

Becky, what a sweet interview. Walker is indeed a special reader! And I love what you said about the "true audience of children's literature is made up of a diverse group of young readers." That is so true!

Walker had so much fun doing this interview! Thank you for a fun, exciting and educational experience for him. We printed the blog post and turned it in as his homework today at preschool - his teachers and lots of other parents were excited that you are interested in the reading habits and preferences of the young ones. Walker really is an avid reader. The number of books this kid has memorized from mommy and daddy reading to him blows my mind. Yesterday we had a new experience though. A local store was doing a fundraiser for his school. We purchased our first set of BOB Books. When we brought them home he immediately wanted to start reading, but this time he was reading to us! He is so proud of himself for beginning to read on his own and we are thrilled that he is beginning the journey of reading this way. We will still read to him, but we are excited about the new doors this will open for him.Thanks again for the opportunity!-Walker's Mom

Thanks so much, April! I am glad Walker enjoyed doing this. It is so important to get kids hooked on reading early, and it is wonderful that he is so excited about reading! Please tell him THANK YOU again from me! = )